For more than a decade, Local 4′s Vote 4 The Best campaign has helped showcase local businesses in various categories.
From the best food, best drink, best experiences and best services, every summer, Vote 4 The Best has guided us to the best of Metro Detroit.
But as we looked at how Vote 4 The Best is positioned for the future, we thought some sprucing up was needed. The contest has been running about the same way since the early 2010s. Businesses are nominated, and then people get to vote on the pool of nominees in each category.
Over the years, the nominees have become the same handful of businesses, and the same winners, year after year. It’s not a bad thing -- those great local spots rallied the most votes and deserved to win. But starting this year, we’re making some changes to even the playing field, and make sure we have a more diverse pool of options for voters.
Our main goal is to provide the best guide to the best businesses and experiences possible for Metro Detroit residents, and to make sure every business has a shot at being included.
What’s changing for 2024 Vote 4 The Best
Nomination process and finalists
Starting on Monday, June 10, the window for nominations will open, just like it has in previous years.
Fans of businesses across our categories can nominate their favorite places, or themselves, to be considered the best of the best.
Our Vote 4 The Best team will then calculate the volume of nominations for each business, paired with our editor’s picks, to create a finalist group for every category. This is new for 2024.
Finalists will be announced in a live stream show on Local 4+ on June 21, and revealed on ClickOnDetroit on the same day.
Changes to categories
We have scaled down how many categories are available in each area. With more than 170 categories last year, the contest became too large to highlight that many local businesses. As a result, many categories got zero nominations and votes.
We’ve refocused the ballot on the categories fans care about the most: food, drink, experiences and services. These areas create the most value for people who are looking to find the best.
That does mean some categories from previous contests have been eliminated. That doesn’t mean they won’t return for future contests, but they aren’t available for the 2024 contest.
You can see the 2024 categories in the ballot below.
Voting and winners
Voting will open on Monday, June 24, where fans can vote within the group of finalists for each category.
Voters can still vote once every hour for three weeks. Voting will end on Sunday, July 14.
Winners are be rolled out starting the week of July 22.
Stickers and trophies
In past years, we’ve sent out “On The List” stickers, but we just don’t have the capacity to mail out hundreds of stickers anymore.
Instead, we’ll be focusing on getting stickers to finalists and winners this year. Businesses can have stickers mailed to them, or pick them up at the station.
Winner plaques can still be ordered from a third-party after the contest ends.
Sharable social graphics will still be available for all businesses.
We appreciate all the support and interest in Vote 4 The Best. We hope these changes will help make the contest more valuable for businesses and Metro Detroiters for years to come.
Have a question? Email us at clickondetroit@wdiv.com, and we’ll get you an answer.